Active package for integrated circuit

ABSTRACT

An active package for an integrated circuit may include an integrated circuit and an active component that is part of the circuit topology for the integrated circuit. The active component forms at least a portion of the housing for the integrated circuit. The integrated circuit may be housed in a shell formed by one or more discrete components. The active package may be formed in the same geometry and dimensions as a standard passive integrated circuit package, or may be formed in a shape to fit inside a standard or specially made battery package, or for another special application. A smart component may include a discrete component or a semiconductor-based resistor, capacitor or inductor, and a separate integrated circuit housed in the same housing as the discrete component or a semiconductor-based resistor, capacitor or inductor. The integrated circuit may control at least one electrical parameter of the discrete component or a semiconductor-based resistor, capacitor or inductor. In one embodiment, the integrated circuit may maintain the resistance, resistivity, capacitance, inductance, etc. of the component inside a narrow range in order to create a high-precision component regardless of changes in environmental changes such as temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to an active package for an integrated circuitand a discrete component. More particularly, the invention relates to anactive package for an integrated circuit in which the package comprisesa discrete component as part of the housing for the integrated circuit.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A typical assembled circuit, such as a PCB assembled circuit, includesan integrated circuit individually packaged in a passive plastic orceramic package that encapsulates and protects an integrated circuit,and one or more discrete component such as a resistor, capacitor orinductor that is assembled together with the integrated circuit onto aPCB circuit board. The assembled circuit, such as a power circuit,microprocessor, memory application, logic device, rf amplifier, etc.,also generally includes transmission lines printed on the circuit boardsubstrate and soldered interconnects that lead to parasitic losses dueto the inherent resistance, capacitance and inductance of thetransmission lines and soldered interconnects. These parasitic lossesgreatly increase in circuits that operate at high switching speeds. Inorder to minimize the parasitic losses, circuit designers have moved thecircuit components closer together on the circuit board. Although theparasitic loss due to the transmission lines may be decreased, placingthe components in close proximity may result in energy radiation, suchas electromagnetic or heat, generated by one or more of the componentsmay interfere with the operation of another component. In addition,higher current handling system designs face unique problems such aslarger component size requirements due to potential dielectric orinsulation breakdowns, energy storage requirements, heat dissipation,high transmission line losses, especially for switching converters whereit affects the power conversion efficiency as well as voltage conversionefficiency and higher efficiency constraints.

Power circuits, such as switching power converters, linear regulators,power integrators, charge pumps, op amp circuits, comparator circuits,relay driver circuits, relay actuation circuits, power integrationcircuits with power monitoring and power control, proximity switches,etc., for example, typically include one or more power converting orregulation component and one or more intrinsic energy conversion,storage or conservation component that are individually packaged andassembled together on a single PCB substrate and/or inside a passiveplastic or ceramic package (e.g., hybrid packages). A switchingconverter may include a charge pump integrated circuit, a flyingcapacitor and a storage capacitor or a plurality of capacitors that makeup a flying or storage capacitor. The various components may generateelectromagnetic or heat energy radiation that may affect the operationof other components. In order to dissipate the heat generated, manypower circuits include a heat sink attached to the plastic or ceramicpackage that houses the power converting or regulation component (e.g.,a TO220 standard power converter package). The total size of the packageincluding the heat sink is typically at least an order of magnitudelarger than the size of the integrated circuit itself depending upon thepower dissipation, the power carrying capability and the number of pinsrequired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention includes an integrated circuit package includingan active component that is part of the circuit topology of theintegrated circuit and forms at least a part of the housing for theintegrated circuit. In one embodiment, for example, the integratedcircuit may be housed in a shell formed by one or more discretecomponents to form an package in which the discrete component is anelement of the circuit including the integrated circuit. The activepackage may be formed in the same geometry and dimensions as a standardpassive integrated circuit package, may be formed in a shape to fitinside a standard or specially made battery package, or may be formed ina size and shape to fit in a device or to form a part of the chassis ofthe device.

In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, a smart componentmay include a discrete component or a semiconductor-based resistor,capacitor or inductor, and a separate integrated circuit housed in thesame housing as the discrete component or a semiconductor-basedresistor, capacitor or inductor. The integrated circuit may control atleast one electrical parameter of the discrete component or asemiconductor-based resistor, capacitor or inductor. In one embodiment,for example, the integrated circuit may maintain the resistance,resistivity, capacitance, inductance, etc. of the component inside anarrow range in order to create a high-precision component regardless ofchanges in environmental changes such as temperature, pressure,humidity, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a power integrator circuitincluding a charge pump power converter.

FIG. 2 shows an alternative embodiment of a power integrator circuitincluding a charge pump power converter.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic block diagram of a power integrator circuitincluding a charge pump that may be housed in an active package of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 shows a simplified exploded view of one embodiment of an activepackage design for the power integrator circuit shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 shows a simplified exploded cross-sectional view taken alongsection lines V—V of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows a simplified exploded cross-sectional view taken alongsection lines VI—VI of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic representation of a power converter circuitincluding a DC/DC converter.

FIG. 8 shows a schematic block diagram of a circuit layout for the powerconverter circuit shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 shows a simplified exploded view of an active package design ofthe present invention that houses the power converter circuit shown inFIG. 7.

FIG. 10 shows a simplified exploded view of an active package design ofthe present invention including an integrated circuit and a singlediscrete component.

FIG. 11 shows a sectional view taken of the active package design ofFIG. 10 along section line XI—XI.

FIG. 12 shows a schematic representation of an audio op amp poweramplifier circuit.

FIG. 13 shows an alternative embodiment of an active package design ofthe present invention.

FIG. 14 shows a battery including an active package design of thepresent invention.

FIG. 15 shows yet another embodiment of an active package design of thepresent invention.

FIG. 16 shows a simplified exploded view of an alternative embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of an another embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 18 shows a cut-away view of the embodiment of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 shows a simplified cut-away view of an yet another embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 20 shows a simplified exploded, cut-away view of the embodiment ofFIG. 19.

FIG. 21 shows a simplified perspective view of an another embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 22 shows a simplified exploded view of a further embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An active package as used in this application refers to a package for atleast one integrated circuit and at least one discrete component that ispart of the same circuit with the integrated circuit. The active packageincludes at least one discrete component as part of the housing for theone or more integrated circuit. An active package may include one ormore integrated circuit along with one or more discrete component. Anintegrated circuit refers to a semiconductor chip including electronicelements fabricated into the chip or onto the surface of the chip (e.g.,silicon, GaAs, SiGe, SiC). The term discrete component refers to aresistor, a capacitor or an inductor that is not fabricated on anintegrated circuit. A high efficiency capacitor refers to capacitorshaving relatively low charge leakage and very low ESR (equivalent serialresistance) and low dynamic serial resistance, for example, double layerelectrolytic capacitors (e.g., capacitors known as super-capacitors,ultra-capacitors and power capacitors) and pseudo capacitors.

A smart component include a discrete component or, in one alternativeembodiment, a semiconductor-based resistor, capacitor or inductor havingat least one semiconductor chip that controls at least some portion ofthe operation of the discrete component housed inside the housing of thediscrete component. A smart component may, for example, include acontroller that monitors environmental conditions such as pressure,temperature, humidity, etc. and optimize the performance of the discretecomponent based upon the condition. A smart component may, for example,provide a single-piece precision discrete component that is able tomaintain its desired electrical properties such as resistance,capacitance or inductance within a tight tolerance level regardless ofchanging environmental conditions. A smart component may be transparentto the circuit in which the discrete component is a part, or may providean input to the circuit.

An assembled circuit may include discrete components that are intrinsicand/or extrinsic to the circuit topology. As used in this application,an intrinsic component is a discrete component that performs a functionintegral with the function of the circuit. In a power integrator, forexample, a resistor, a flying capacitor, a storage capacitor or aninductor perform an energy conversion, storage and/or conservation rolethat is required for the power integrator to operate as designed. Anextrinsic component, however, refers to a discrete component that is notintegral with the function of the circuit. An extrinsic component may beused to enhance the operation of the circuit. A filter capacitor, forexample, may be connected between an input or output terminal and groundto enhance the operation of an assembled circuit, but is not requiredfor the circuit to operate as designed and, as such, represents an addedcost to the overall circuit design.

An active package of the present invention may significantly reduce thecost and complexity of packaging and assembling an integrated circuit.By using an active component as a housing or shell for an integratedcircuit, the present invention may eliminate passive material otherwiserequired to package the integrated circuit. In addition, an embodimentof the present invention that uses an intrinsic component of theassembled circuit instead of an extrinsic component may reduce thenumber of active components used in the circuit and may correspondinglyreduce the finished cost of the assembled circuit. Using all theintrinsic components of the assembled circuit in the housing or shellmay also significantly reduce costs even more because the chip packagingand the circuit assembling may be performed in the same step. Where thecomponents are able to be mechanically interconnected, the presentinvention may also allow for reduced or eliminated use of solder. This,in turn, may further reduce costs of assembly and allow for moreenvironmentally-friendly products due to the reduction or elimination oflead used in the solder. Where the intrinsic component, such as a flyingor storage capacitor of a power converter, may also perform a functionthat may otherwise be performed by an extrinsic component, such as afilter capacitor, this also results in further cost savings because thecost of the extrinsic component may be eliminated.

An active package may also allow for a boardless design of an assembledcircuit because the discrete components are used as the integratedcircuit packaging elements. An active package may include multipleintegrated circuits at least partially housed in or by a discretecomponent. For example, a multiple chip module may be replaced by anactive package of the present invention that includes two or moreintegrated circuits housed in an active package of the presentinvention. Although not required, in one embodiment one or moreintegrated circuits and/or discrete components may be assembled on a PCBboard that is housed within an active package of the present invention.

In one embodiment of the present invention, an active package mayinclude a “shell” structure that includes a top shell and/or a bottomshell. In the embodiment including a dual-sided shell design such as thedesign shown in FIGS. 4-6 and 9, the two shell sides may encapsulate anintegrated circuit. In a single-sided shell design, such as shown inFIGS. 10 and 11, the shell side may protect one side of an integratedcircuit. The other side of the integrated circuit may be protected by apassive packaging material such as plastic or ceramic material, or maybe self-protecting such as a flip-chip. A shell side may include asingle discrete component that protects one side of an integratedcircuit such as the top shell designs shown in FIGS. 4-6 and the bottomshell design shown in FIGS. 4-6 and 9-11. Alternatively, the shell sidemay comprise multiple discrete components that are attached together toform a single side of a shell such as the top shell design shown in FIG.9.

Active components used in the housing or shell may also be used as aheat sink for the integrated circuit and, in many cases, may eliminatethe need for an external heat sink altogether. A capacitor, a resistoror an inductor that is housed adjacent to the semiconductor chip maydistribute and dissipate heat generated in the semiconductor chip moreefficiently than a typical plastic or ceramic packaging material. Inaddition, the discrete component used as the housing or shell may alsoinclude a metal casing or layer that may further aid in dissipating heatfrom the active package. Further, the discrete components may also beconfigured so that the active package may be attached to a conventionalheat sink. A component may, for example, include a hole similar to thoseof typical integrated circuit packaging designs that may be used toattach the active package to a heat sink. An active package of thepresent invention may also enable an integrated chip to operate at thelower temperature than typical because the parasitic dissipation may“warm up” the semiconductor chip.

An active package of the present invention may also allow for highernoise immunity and may allow for use of parasitic elements as part ofthe circuit. By encapsulating a larger part, or even the entire part, ofthe circuit may allow for higher noise immunity of the circuit and mayreduce the noise generated by the circuit that affects other nearbycircuits. Also, the proximity of the semiconductor chip to the othercomponents may lead to more predictable parasitic elements of thecircuit that may be utilized in the design of the circuit.

An active package design of the present invention may also be scaleable,i.e., multiple active package designs may be connected together. In thisembodiment, the combination of active package designs may allow for aninterconnecting board-less circuit in which all the circuit elements areinterconnected in one package. In a particular embodiment, this packagemay form a portion of the chassis of a device that houses the electroniccircuitry for that device or may even form all or a portion of thechassis of the device.

An embodiment of the present invention may also include a discretecomponent that responds to or senses an environmental condition such aspressure, temperature, humidity, etc., or a change in the environmentalcondition. The circuit may detect this condition or change in conditionand respond by optimizing the operation of the circuit to maximize theperformance of the circuit. The circuit component may include, forexample, a thermistor, temperature diode, a capacitor, or an inductorthat responds to a change in temperature by a change in the resistance,capacitance or inductance of the component. The circuit may detect thischange and use the change as a feedback signal to optimize theperformance of the circuit.

Any circuit having including an integrated circuit and one or moreintrinsic discrete components may be configured into an active packageof the present invention. A power integrator including a charge pumpintegrated circuit, a flying capacitor and a storage capacitor, forexample, includes two discrete components that may form a shell to housethe charge pump integrated circuit. FIG. 1 shows a simplified schematicrepresentation of a power integrator circuit 20 including a charge pump26, a flying capacitor 22 and a storage capacitor 28. In the powerintegrator circuit 20, the flying capacitor 22 is electrically connectedbetween the input terminal 21 of the power integrator circuit 20 and theneutral terminal 25 of the power integrator circuit 20. The charge pump26 has an input terminal 23, a neutral terminal 27 and an outputterminal 24. The input terminal 23 of the charge pump 26 is electricallyconnected to the input terminal 21 of the power converter circuit 20.The output terminal 24 of the charge pump 26 is electrically connectedto the output terminal 29 of the power integrator circuit 20. Theneutral terminal 27 of the charge pump 26 is electrically connected tothe neutral terminal 25 of the power integrator circuit 20. The storagecapacitor 28 is electrically connected between the output terminal 29 ofthe power integrator circuit 20 and the neutral terminal 25 of the powerintegrator circuit 20.

In an alternative embodiment, the power converter circuit may include acomponent that includes an environmental condition sensor or a componentthat changes parameters in response to a change in an environmentalcondition such as pressure, temperature, humidity, etc. (e.g., acapacitor that changes capacitance as the temperature varies). FIG. 2,for example, shows an alternative embodiment of a power integratorcircuit 30 to the power integrator circuit 20 shown in FIG. 1 in whichthe storage capacitor 38 may include a temperature sensing element,and/or the capacitor may change capacitance as the temperature varies(alternatively, the flying capacitor may be used to detect a change intemperature). As the temperature of the charge pump integrated circuitor of the environment varies, the charge pump 26 may detect a change inthe capacitance of the storage capacitor 38 or receive an input from thetemperature sensing element and vary the operation of the charge pump 26such as by changing the duty cycle of the converter to optimize theperformance of the circuit. In this embodiment, for example, theutilization of a temperature sensor or a change in capacitance may allowfor better system controller performance due to the measurabledissipation information available as feedback for real time circuitoperating conditions. Alternatively, the capacitor of this circuit maycomprise a smart-component capacitor in which the capacitor may includean integrated circuit that monitors one or more environmental conditionsand optimizes the performance of the capacitor to keep it in a desiredrange of performance. Other embodiments of a power converter including acharge pump that may be housed in an active package of the presentinvention are described in U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/141,119entitled “Battery Having a Built-In Dynamically Switched CapacitivePower Converter” filed on Jun. 25, 1999 by Nebrigic and Gartstein, whichis incorporated by reference into this application. Other powerintegrators incorporating a charge pump that are known in the art mayalso be housed in an active package of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic block diagram of a power integrator circuitincluding a charge pump integrated circuit 42, a flying capacitor 44 anda storage capacitor 46 that may be housed in an active package of thepresent invention. FIG. 4 shows a simplified exploded view of oneembodiment of an active package design 40 for the power integratorcircuit shown in FIG. 3. FIGS. 5 and 6 show two simplified explodedcross-sectional views taken along section lines V—V and VI—VI of FIG. 4,respectively. The active package 40 includes a power integrator with acharge pump converter circuit having a charge pump integrated circuit42, a flying capacitor 44 and a storage capacitor 46. In thisembodiment, the charge pump integrated circuit 42 is located between thestorage capacitor 46, which provides a substrate upon which the chargepump integrated circuit 42 is located and forms one side of the activepackage 40 shell, and the flying capacitor 44, which forms the secondside of the active package 40 shell. The positions of the capacitors 44and 46 may be reversed. The flying capacitor 44 and/or the storagecapacitor 46 may include a recess, such as recesses 51 and 52, in whichthe charge pump integrated circuit 42 may be partially or fully housed.The recess(es) 51 and 52 may include a dimple, a notch or a cavity oretched groove formed in one or both of the capacitors 44 and 46. Therecess(es) 51 and 52 may be milled, etched, molded, etc.

The storage capacitor 46 and/or the flying capacitor 44 may be fully orpartially encased by an insulator material. In one embodiment, thethickness 53 and 55 of the insulators 49 and 50 at least on the side ofone or both of the capacitors 44 and 46 that is adjacent to the chargepump integrated circuit 42 may be calculated to prevent anelectromagnetic or field generated either by the charge pump integratedcircuit 42 or a capacitor 44 or 46 from extending into the othercomponent. In this embodiment, the insulators 49 and 50 prevent thecomponents that are located in close proximity from interfering with theoperation of the other component. In this embodiment, the flyingcapacitor 44 and the storage capacitor 46 are shown to betantalum/polymer capacitors in which the dielectric layers 41 and 53 maybe molded in order to provide easier connections between the electrodes43, 45, 47 and 48 and the rest of the circuit without extending a pinthrough the dielectric layers 41 and 53 of the capacitors 44 and 46. Thecapacitors may, however, be other types of capacitors known in the artsuch as high efficiency capacitors including ultra-capacitors, supercapacitor, double layer electrolytic capacitors or pseudo capacitors.The capacitors may have terminals on the surface of the capacitors inorder to allow for easier electrical connections of the capacitors tothe rest of the circuit.

The charge pump integrated circuit 42 may be electrically connected tothe flying capacitor 44 and the storage capacitor 46 by contact pads asshown in FIG. 4. In this embodiment, the neutral terminal 64 of thecharge pump integrated circuit 42 is electrically connected to theneutral pin 74 of the active package 40 by the contact pad 54. Thenegative electrode 45 of the flying capacitor 44 is electricallyconnected to the flying capacitor negative terminal 66 of the chargepump integrated circuit 42 by contact pads 56 and 80, which are broughtinto physical and electrical contact with each other when the activepackage 40 is assembled. The positive electrode 43 of the flyingcapacitor 44 is electrically connected to the flying capacitor positiveterminal 72 of the charge pump integrated circuit 42 by contact pads 62and 82, which are also brought into electrical and physical contact whenthe active package 40 is assembled. The positive input terminal 68 ofthe charge pump integrated circuit 42 is electrically connected to thepositive input pin 76 of the active package 40 by the contact pad 58.The output terminal 70 of the charge pump integrated circuit 42 iselectrically connected to the output pin 78 of the active package 40 bycontact pad 60. The positive electrode 47 of the storage capacitor 46 iselectrically connected to the output pin 78 of the active package 40,and the negative electrode 48 of the storage capacitor is electricallyconnected to the neutral pin 74 of the active package.

The active package 40 of the present invention may be assembled in anumber of different ways. The charge pump integrated circuit 42, forexample, may be soldered to the flying capacitor 44 and/or the storagecapacitor 46, may be mechanically latched together with the flyingcapacitor 44 and/or the storage capacitor 46, may be snap fit into arecess such as recess 51 and/or 52 by spring forces if the terminals ofthe charge pump integrated circuit 42 or the contact pads of either ofthe capacitors in the recesses 51 and/or 52 include resilient membersthat hold the charge pump integrated circuit 42 in place, or may evenrest in place in a recess such as recess 51 and/or 52. The charge pumpintegrated circuit 42 may alternatively be connected to the flyingcapacitor 44 and/or the storage capacitor 46 by any means known in theart. The flying capacitor 44 and the storage capacitor 46 may also beconnected together in many different ways to form an active package 40of the present invention. The capacitors, for example, may be bondedtogether by bonding pads such as bonding pads 84, 86, 88 and 90. Thebonding pads 84, 86, 88 and 90 are insulated from the flying capacitor44 and the storage capacitor 46 by insulators 49 and 50, respectively.Thus, the bonding pads 84, 86, 88 and 90 allow for mechanicalconnections between the capacitors, but not electrical connections.Alternatively, the flying and storage capacitors 44 and 46 may besoldered, mechanically interconnected, or connected by any other meansknown in the art.

An alternative embodiment of a power converter circuit 100 including aflying capacitor 110, an inductor 112, a DC/DC converter 114, and astorage capacitor 116 is shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 8 shows a schematic blockdiagram of a circuit layout for the power converter circuit 100 shown inFIG. 7, and FIG. 9 shows a simplified exploded view of an active package120 of the present invention that houses the power converter circuit 100shown in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, the flying capacitor 110 and theinductor 112 mate together and form the top shell of the active package120 (alternatively, the flying capacitor 110 and the inductor may formthe bottom shell of the active package 120). The flying capacitor 110and the inductor 112 may be connected, for example, by the interlockingposts 122 and holes 124. The posts 122 and the holes 124 may snap-fittogether or interlock by other mechanical means. The posts 122 may beinsulated from the electrodes of the flying capacitor 110 and/or theholes 124 may be insulated from the inductor 112 if a purely mechanicalconnection is desired. In this case another form electrical contact, ifneeded, may be supplied. In FIG. 9, for example, contact pads 126 on theflying capacitor 110 and the inductor 112 may be used to make electricalcontact between the two components. Alternatively, one or more of theposts 122 may be electrically connected to an electrode of the flyingcapacitor 110 and one or more of the holes 124 may be electricallyconnected to the inductor 112. In this way, both the mechanical andelectrical connections between the flying capacitor 110 and the inductor112 may be made by the posts 122 and the holes 124. If the discretecomponents are not to be directly electrically connected to each other,only mechanical connections need be made.

As shown in FIG. 9, DC/DC converter integrated circuit 114 may belocated in recess 128 of storage capacitor 116. A recess may also beformed in the flying capacitor 110, the inductor 112 to house a portionor all of the DC/DC converter integrated circuit 114 in addition to orinstead of the recess 128 formed in the storage capacitor 116. The DC/DCconverter integrated circuit may be electrically connected to the flyingcapacitor 110, the inductor 112, the storage capacitor 116, the neutralpin 138 and the output pin 140 by terminals 130 and contact pads 132 asdescribed above with respect to FIGS. 4-6. The flying capacitor 110 andthe inductor 112 may be electrically connected to the input pin 136 viacontact pads 132. The top and bottom shells of the active package 120may be connected together by bonding pads 134 as described above.Alternatively, the top and bottom shells of the active package 120 maybe soldered, mechanically interconnected, or connected by any othermeans known in the art.

In an alternative embodiment, multiple resistors, capacitors orinductors may be connected together such as in the manner shown in FIG.9 and described above, or by any other method described in thisapplication or known in the art, to form the desired circuitconnections. In order to provide the desired resistance, capacitance orinductance values, for example, multiple resistors, capacitors orinductors may be combined together in series or in parallel. In acapacitor, for example, each post may be electrically connected to adifferent electrode of that capacitor, and each hole may be electricallyconnected to a different electrode of that capacitor. Then, thecapacitors may be connected in series or in parallel depending uponwhich post was inserted into which hole. In addition, different types ofdiscrete components such as the capacitor and inductor shown in FIG. 9may be connected together to form various circuit configurations desiredfor a particular application. FIG. 22 shows a simplified exploded viewof yet another embodiment of the present invention in which multiplediscrete components 1010 may be mated together to form a single shellside 1020 that forms the top of an active package of the presentinvention including integrated circuit 1012 and carrier 1014. Theconnections shown may be snap fit configurations in which no solder isnecessary and may also include purely mechanical connections in whichthe electrical elements of the discrete components are insulated fromeach other, or may also include electrical connects between the discretecomponents.

Yet another embodiment of an active package of the present invention isshown in FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 11 shows a sectional view taken alongsection line XI—XI shown in FIG. 10. In this embodiment, the activepackage 200 includes an integrated circuit 210 and a single discretecomponent 220. In this embodiment, the integrated circuit 210 could bedesigned with the exposed side of the integrated circuit 210 protected,such as a flip-chip design (e.g., wafer scale packaging). Alternatively,the active package 200 could include a passive packaging material suchas plastic or ceramic that covers the exposed side 212 of the integratedcircuit 210. The electrical and mounting connections between theintegrated circuit 210 and the discrete component 220 may be any of themethods described above or any other connections known in the art. FIG.11, for example, shows an exemplary electrical contact pad 224 thatextends through insulator layer 222 of the discrete component 220.Discrete component 220 may be one or more capacitor, inductor andor/resistor or a combination of one or more capacitor, inductor and/orresistor. An example of a circuit that may be housed in an activepackage 200 design that includes a single discrete component is an audioop amp power amplifier circuit. A circuit schematic for an audio op amppower amplifier circuit that may be housed in an active package designsuch as the active package design 200 is shown in FIGS. 12.

Battery Top

In an alternative embodiment, a power converter, regulator or chargepump circuits may be housed in an active package design of the presentinvention that is designed to fit under a false positive top or a falsenegative bottom of a battery. As shown in FIG. 13, for example, a chargepump active package 300 is designed to fit under the false positive topof a cylindrical battery (e.g., AA, AAA, C or D). In this embodiment,the storage capacitor 314, being the larger capacitor, forms the base ofthe active package 300 and provides a substrate on which a converter,regulator or charge pump integrated circuit, such as the charge pumpintegrated circuit 312, may be located. The flying capacitor 310 isnarrower than the storage capacitor 314 and forms the top of the activepackage 300. As shown in FIG. 14, the narrower top of the active package300 may be designed to fit within the dimple 324 of a false positive top322 of a standard cylindrical battery 320. Alternatively, the shape ofthe active package 300 may be designed to fit in another location of astandard cylindrical battery or in another battery such as a prismatic,or other type of battery. Designs of power converters, regulators orcharge pump circuits that may be used in the package of the presentinvention are described in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/054,192 entitled“Primary Battery Having a Built-In Controller to Extend Battery RunTime” and filed on Apr. 2, 1998 by Gartstein and Nebrigic, U.S.application Ser. No. 09/054,191 entitled “Battery Having a Built-InController to Extend Battery Service Run Time” and filed on Apr. 2, 1998by Gartstein and Nebrigic, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/054,087 entitled“Battery Having a Built-In Controller” and filed on Apr. 2, 1998 byGartstein and Nebrigic, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/054,012 entitled“Battery Having a Built-In Controller” and filed on Apr. 2, 1998 byGartstein and Nebrigic, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/275,495 entitled“Battery Having a Built-In Controller” and filed on Mar. 24, 1999 byGartstein and Nebrigic, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/141,119“Battery Having A Built-In Indicator” and filed on Apr. 23, 1999 byNebrigic and Gartstein, each of which are incorporated by reference intothis application.

In one embodiment, the flying capacitor 310 and the storage capacitor314 may be high efficiency capacitors such as the ultra-capacitor coincells described in Table 1 below. The ultra-capacitor coin cells mayinclude two terminals on the same side of the capacitor in order toallow for easier connection in an active package of the presentinvention such as this embodiment or in other embodiments disclosed inthis application.

Table 1

TABLE 1 Technical Parameters Flying Capacitor Storage CapacitorCapacitance 0.05 F 1 F (−10%, +25%) (−10%, +25%) Series Resistance (25C): DC <0.09 Ohms <0.10 Ohms 100 HZ <0.08 Ohms <0.08 Ohms Voltage:Continuous Voltage 2.8 V 2.8 V Peak Voltage 3.6 V 3.6 V Dimensions 4 mmOD; 6.5 mm OD; 2 mm height 2.5 mm height Temperature Operating −20 C. to+60 C. −20 C. to +60 C. Storage −40 C. to +80 C. −40 C. to +80 C.Leakage Current 0.01 to 0.02 mA 0.005 to 0.01 mA (after 72 hrs)

In one embodiment of the present invention, the active package may beformed into a standard integrated circuit package, such as asurface-mounted or wafer-scale package, in which one or more intrinsiccomponents are incorporated into the active package in the same geometryas the standard integrated circuit package. In this way, the activepackage may replace all or part of the circuit that a standard passivepackage is used.

As shown in FIG. 22, multiple discrete components may be mated togetherto form a shell side of an active package of the present invention. Inthis embodiment, discrete components 1010 are mated together to form thetop shell side 1020 of the active package 1000 such as for amicroprocessor integrated circuit package. This top shell side 1020 mayreplace the passive package material of a typical microprocessorintegrated circuit package (e.g., BGA-256) and allow for discretecomponents typically placed on a PCB board to be integrated into anactive package 1000 of the present invention. The bottom carrier 1014may include a typical pin carrier (e.g., BGA-256).

In on particular embodiment, the active package may include a fullyintegrated charge pump that is in a standard charge pump package form.The active package may be formed into a TO-220, SOT-223, TO-3, TO92,TO87, etc. standard form. FIG. 15, for example, shows an embodiment inwhich the active package is formed into a TO-220 standard form package.In this embodiment, the flying capacitor 410 and the storage capacitor414 form the top and the bottom halves of the housing shell thatencapsulates the integrated circuit 412. The flying capacitor 410 may bethe same dimensions as the top of a standard TO-220 package. In theembodiment shown in FIG. 15, the storage capacitor 414 forms only aportion of the bottom half of the TO-220 package, and a metal, plasticor ceramic tab is attached to the storage capacitor to complete thebottom half of the standard package and to allow the package to beconnected to a heat sink. In an alternative embodiment, the storagecapacitor may be the same dimensions the bottom of a standard TO-220package and may, if necessary, include a hole that allows for attachmentof the package to a heat sink. In one embodiment, the flying capacitor410 and the storage capacitor 412 may be high efficiency capacitors suchas the ultra-capacitors described in Table 2 below.

Table 2

TABLE 2 Technical Parameters Flying Capacitor Storage CapacitorCapacitance 0.05 F 1 F (−10%, +25%) (−10%, +25%) Series Resistance (25C): DC <0.09 Ohms <0.10 Ohms 100 HZ <0.08 Ohms <0.08 Ohms Voltage:Continuous Voltage 2.8 V 2.8 V Peak Voltage 3.6 V 3.6 V Dimensions 8.38mm × 26 mm × 10.16 mm × 10.16 mm × 2 mm 2.45 to 2.65 mm TemperatureOperating −20 C. to +60 C. −20 C. to +60 C. Storage −40 C. to +80 C. −40C. to +80 C. Leakage Current 0.01 to 0.02 mA 0.005 to 0.01 mA (after 72hrs)

FIG. 16 shows a simplified exploded view of an alternative embodiment ofthe present invention that may be used to replace a standard TO-3package. The active package includes flying capacitor 510, integratedcircuit 512 and storage capacitor 514.

FIG. 17 shows a perspective view of an another embodiment of the presentinvention including discrete components 610 and 614, and integratedcircuit 612. FIG. 18 shows a cut-away view of the embodiment of FIG. 17.

FIG. 19 shows a simplified cut-away view of an yet another embodiment ofthe present invention. In this embodiment, the active package includesdiscrete components 810 and 814, and integrated circuit 812. FIG. 20shows a simplified exploded, cut-away view of the embodiment of FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 shows a simplified perspective view of an another embodiment ofthe present invention including a smart component. The smart componentis shown without its housing and shows component 910, which may be adiscrete component or a semiconductor component such as a silicon basedresistor, capacitor or inductor.

What is claimed is:
 1. An integrated circuit package comprising: (a) apackage input terminal, a package output terminal and a package neutralterminal; (b) a discrete component electrically connected between eitherthe package input terminal or the package output terminal and thepackage neutral terminal, preferably wherein the discrete component isselected from the group of: a tantalum capacitor, a high efficiencycapacitor, an ultra capacitor, a super capacitor, a double layerelectrolytic capacitor, a pseudo capacitor, non-linear magneticinductor, and inductive bead, a resistor; (c) an integrated circuitincluding a first side, and a second side, an integrated circuit inputterminal, an integrated circuit output terminal and an integratedcircuit neutral terminal, the integrated circuit input terminalelectrically connected to the package input terminal, the integratedcircuit input terminal electrically connected to the package inputterminal, the integrated circuit output terminal electrically connectedto the package output terminal, and the integrated circuit neutralterminal electrically connected to the package neutral terminal; whereinthe discrete component forms a first side of the package that protectsthe first side of the integrated circuit.
 2. The integrated circuitpackage of claim 1, wherein the discrete component includes multiplediscrete components attached together, preferably wherein the multiplediscrete components are snap-fitted together.
 3. The integrated circuitpackage of claim 1, wherein the discrete component and the integratedcircuit are connected in series or in parallel between the package inputterminal and the package output terminal.
 4. The integrated circuitpackage of claim 1, wherein the discrete component comprises a firstcapacitor electrically connected between the package input terminal andthe package neutral terminal, the integrated circuit package furthercomprising a second capacitor electrically connected between the packageoutput terminal and the package neutral terminal, wherein the firstcapacitor forms a first side of the package, the second capacitor formsa second side of the package, and the integrated circuit is locatedbetween the first capacitor and the second capacitor, preferably whereinthe integrated circuit comprises a power charge pump integrated circuit.5. The integrated circuit package of claim 1, wherein the integratedcircuit comprises a power charge pump integrated circuit.
 6. Theintegrated circuit package of claim 1, further comprising a batteryhaving: a container including a positive terminal and a negativeterminal, and an electrochemical cell including a positive electrode anda negative electrode, the integrated circuit package being electricallyconnected between the positive and negative electrodes of theelectrochemical cell and the positive and negative terminals of thecontainer.
 7. The integrated circuit package of claim 1, wherein theintegrated circuit package is sized to fit inside a false top of astandard-sized cylindrical battery.
 8. The integrated circuit package ofclaim 4, wherein the first capacitor includes multiple capacitorsattached together.
 9. The integrated circuit package of claim 8, whereinthe integrated circuit package comprises a single component powerintegrator, preferably wherein the single component power integratorintegrated circuit includes only 3 terminals and/or the single componentpower controller is a standard-package power controller packageconstruction.
 10. The integrated circuit package of claim 9, wherein thefirst capacitor and/or the second capacitor is an ultra capacitor. 11.The integrated circuit package of claim 10, wherein the integratedcircuit package is a solderless construction.